A thousand and one nights out

A spaceship of a club has landed in the desert city, with giant art, hip-hop stars and a love of deluxe

On its opening weekend, the O1NE nightclub secured a place in the Guinness Book of Records. Eighteen aerosol-wielding artists turned the circular façade of the building, 17m high, into the world’s largest private graffiti wall (it took two weeks and 5,500 spray cans to complete the job). On the other side of the wall, VJs take care of the club’s interior decoration, projecting onto an area of 350m2: that’s about one-and-a-third tennis courts.

“Either you reserve a VIP table, or you try your luck at the door,” says owner Chafic el Khazen

There is nothing understated here. A lit catwalk runs through the middle of the club, on which the likes of hip-hop stars Ludacris and Lil’ Kim have strutted. The feeling out on the dancefloor is of a catwalk show in orbit, on a space station manned by models and fuelled by champagne. Entry is not impossible. “Either you reserve a VIP table, or you try your luck at the door,” says owner Chafic el Khazen, who also runs O1NE’s sister club in Beirut. “Dressed to the nines, and in a ratio of two women to one man.”

Privilege, Ibiza Seven floors, rooms with ceilings 25m high, a huge indoor pool and 10,000 people dancing the night away. Clubbers get a map of the building when they enter, to find their way around the biggest club in the world.http://www.privilegeibiza.com/

Moulin Rouge, ParisThe longest-running club opened in 1889, the same year as the Eiffel Tower. It’s still as innovative as ever: cutting-edge techno DJs of the moment play next door in its spin-off club, La Machine.http://www.moulinrouge.fr/

Club 23, Melbourne At AU$12,500, the Winston, the world’s most expensive cocktail, is named for its most expensive ingredient: 1858 vintage Croizet Cognac, a bottle of which Winston Churchill shared with General Eisenhower on the day before D-Day.http://www.club23.com.au/

Abu Dhabi: to do

Abu Dhabi doesn’t just have amazing nightlife to offer. Here are three things which you shouln’t miss out on.

GET PAID IN GOLD

The Emirates Palace Hotel has a cashpoint-style machine that doles out gold. You can withdraw 1g, 5g or 10g at going rates. The machine itself is coated in gold, too.